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Sunday, December 1, 2013

Make Magic Happen

This year: Carrot magic again!

Two years ago: carrot magic

You would think my son invented the word "Magical" the way he bestows it with such authority. The orange blossom soap should go in his sock drawer so his socks will, "Smell magical." He's joking, but not really.The lemon tree is "magical." He gave a lemon to his friend as a birthday gift. The kid was thrilled. A real lemon from the real lemon tree. Magical.

He's not just trying out a new word. Some things are special, magical. We collide with more of those things than most folks do, but it's not just chance.My sister nurtures a resentment about it, complaining when we were younger (and older) that I would get "cool jobs" and win at Monopoly. She's getting over it as she realizes how the magic is made...You have to put yourself in the path of the magic. The Walking Dead Thanksgiving adventure didn't come to me. It would have been easier and cheaper to stay home. More sensible. The internship I got at the radio station as a teenager? I called the request line and networked the DJs. I got the job at the House of Blues by showing up when they were over scheduled and offering to help. I had to take the day off work to do that. Those Eagles tickets that propelled my son to his 10 seconds of fame cost a pretty penny.The lemon tree was expensive too. If you are not willing to spend the time or break your schedule or spend the money - no magic.

I owned a garden center because I called and leased the empty greenhouse and then worked night and day, literally, for 10 years. You have to work to make magic.

Magic doesn't always pan out. You have to try more than once. If you try several things simultaneously, you are more likely to get something. This is where magic is like gardening. This year, the lettuce in the ground did not have magic, but the carrots did.

No magic this time? TRY AGAIN!

My sister went skydiving to jump start some magic. You go girl. That's one story I won't ever have. (FYI: Skydiving is not free either.)Magic Happens, but it doesn't travel. You have think about where it could happen, then go where you know the magic will be. If the magic doesn't happen, you can still dig up a bamboo plant as a souvenir.